Samsung has suffered another setback in the European Union. Weeks after a German court ordered an injunction of their Galaxy Tab 10.1, a Dutch court has ruled in Apple's favor against Samsung's Galaxy line of smartphones. According to the decision, Samsung infringed on patent number EP 2059868, which is for a "portable electronic device for photo management."

Here is a description of the patent:

A portable electronic device with a touch screen display for photo management is disclosed. One aspect of the invention involves a computer-implemented method in which the portable electronic device displays an array of thumbnail images corresponding to a set of photographic images. The device replaces the displayed array of thumbnail images with a user-selected photographic image upon detecting a user contact with a corresponding thumbnail image in the array. The user-selected photographic image is displayed at a larger scale than the corresponding thumbnail image. The portable device displays a different photographic image in replacement of the user-selected photographic image in accordance with a scrolling gesture. The scrolling gesture comprises a substantially horizontal movement of user contact with the touch screen display.

The three phones cannot be sold by Samsung's subsidiaries in The Netherlands or any other EU country that recognizes the patent in question. Samsung has vowed to keep fighting and the war is not likely to be over anytime soon. Stay tuned.

Update: Samsung has released a response to the court decision, saying that they will do everything that they can to ensure that the Galaxy phones will be available in the EU.

Here is their statement:

Today's ruling is an affirmation that the GALAXY range of products is innovative and distinctive. With regard to the single infringement cited in the ruling, we will take all possible measures including legal action to ensure that there is no disruption in the availability of our GALAXY smartphones to Dutch consumers.

This ruling is not expected to affect sales in other European markets.

Samsung has a proud history of innovation in the mobile industry. We will continue our plans to introduce new products and technologies that meet and exceed consumer expectations. And we will defend our intellectual property rights through the ongoing legal proceedings around the world.

The ruling found no IP infringements by Samsung GALAXY Tab devices. It found that Samsung’s GALAXY S, GALAXY S II, and GALAXY Ace infringed just one of the 10 IP rights which were cited in the lawsuit.

The court ruled that Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, the parent company, may not sell the cited products in the Netherlands. This does not affect Samsung Electronics' sales in the rest of Europe.

The court ruled that Samsung’s Netherlands-based subsidiaries may not sell the cited products in the Netherlands, the UK, France, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Lichtenstein, Luxemburg, Monaco, Sweden, Switzerland until the cited single infringement is addressed.

The ruling provides a grace period until Oct. 14 to address the single infringement cited.

Wouldn't a solution for Samsung be to not include a photo gallery in their touchwiz software and then require the user to download and install a 3rd party photo gallery application? At least then, apple couldn't sue Samsung, right?

Excluding a key feature out of the box would not be fair to customers and Samsung or any manufacturer for that matter would not do this just to appease Apple. Imagine, you can take pictures but you can't view them without downloading an app from the market. Wouldn't sit very well with the public and would hurt sales significantly.

I understand that, but not excluding the feature has earned Samsung a European injunction (and there are few things that can affect sales more than that). I agree that Apple needs to be controlled and that this is all stupid and petty. The only people that are hurt in this are non-customers of Apple. Like I said, mark my words, this b.s. will not fly in the United States.

I wonder, did they patent the swipe from one home screen to another? Imagine if they were given that patent, everyone else would have had to make a product with a single home screen, lol. Anyway, if you read between the lines, I would argue this is probably more bad news for Apple than for Samsung.

What Apple really wanted was an injunction based on the look and feel of the devices. Now, since that request was denied, Samsung can use that ruling for the future to point out that other courts found the look and feel argument as weak.

As for the photo swiping thing, I have a feeling that a judge in the U.S would probably laugh at the request. In the 'no balls' E.U, Samsung can make changes to the photo app before it's dinner time for us here tonight.

I think Apple wants total domination since they were crushed by Microsoft back in the day. It's sad they have come to this point now to be what they used to hate! It is what it is and I too will NEVER buy another Apple mobile product.

Apple has really stopped innovating and are now copying features from others such as taking FOUR OS versions to allow for a hotspot?!?! They took FIVE OS versions to come up with a notification slide down window?!?! Wow but yet they cry when others "copy" them. It's sad that they have resorted to suing over anything they can just to try an sell another iPhone.

Random rant...who in the world makes a phone made of all glass? Idiots! :)

Samsung is to blame for being the first to be targeted by adding a single physical button just like the iPhone and creating UI tweaks which also mimic the IOS UI but make no mistake Apple was prepared for this no matter who became the biggest seller world wide.

I love my Galaxy S2, its amazing but my anger if I have any is aimed at Samsung for leaving themselves open to this kind of attack.

We've all fallen into the Apple honey trap. Wanting something like an iPhone but not as expensive and made by some other manufacturer. We all fell in love with swiping the screen and pinch to zoom but Samsung should have come up with something else but instead they counter fitted these processes like all the other manufacturers.

In years to come there will be something else but who will invest the money time and effort to develop it first and who will try to clone the concepts and sell them as there own?

I have no love for the Apple ecosystem or its smug leader but I could swear in the first iPhone keynote he predicted this stalemate and knew Apple's ass was covered for not being pressured by market trends holding back everyone else.

True innovation would be exempt of course.

I say lets cut to the chase... Will Apple be satisfied with a payment or do they simply want to crush all other competing hardware options?

Only Samsung did not copy the "look and feel" of the iPhone. Hence why Apple has moved on to this new stack of BS. Samsung could easily prove, and it looks like they may have, that the Galaxy S phones are a natural evolution of their past products since before the iPhone. Why should a company completely change their design schemes because now someone else is doing it too. The UI also, is an evolution of something Samsung was already doing, just now more colourful with being displayed on a AMOLED screen.

Either way, this is discouraging to technology enthusiasts, many on this site are hare because they have an Android and it it their platform of choice at this point in time ( if time really exists. Sorry, another discussion all together but I couldn't resist.) and want to see it go as far as possible so they don't have to move on to something else too soon.

First, I do not agree at all with this patent war unleashed by Apple, looks like scare tactics against Android manufacturers in general. However, to be fair when the original Galaxy phones were unveiled many here commented on how iPhonelike they looked. Whether this similarity is intentional or accidental or if this really violates exist Apple patents I don't know.

I truly enjoy reading comments from people who have no clue how the patent system works (or in some cases comprehending or even just reading the article). I get such a laugh reading your misguided attempts to justify your love of android and your hate of apple (Which is fine. I have nothing against fanboyism. Just don't pretend it has anything to do with 'Insert Article Name Here') Please keep them coming as makes my day.

And I enjoy completely clueless commentary like yours. Patents are supposed to be about scientific progress. Did Apple create the technology in the patent? Nope. Hence their patent does not represent progress. The fact Apple acts as if their "inventions" are new and progressive is a lie and they are now seeking a business advantage based off these lies.

I truly love d-bags who post condescending comments about other commenters' lack of knowledge. If you have such a deep understanding of the patent system, why don't you enlighten everybody instead of putting everyone else down?

I have personally reserved the spot directly below this post for you to explain to us on how, exactly, the patent system works. If you feel the responsibility to condescend everyone who is not as knowledgeable as you are, I think you should have the responsibility to enlighten us ignorant masses.

Apple is just scared of any competition. They were the ones that said Android would never catch up to iOS and now they are copying Android and trying to sue anyone that possess as a threat instead of just improving their crappy mobile devices. Scared ass bitches

Google actually doesn't have real ground to stand on for a lawsuit of its own.

In order to do that, it would have to directly profit from Android to say it was being damaged. But it doesn't -- Android is a free license, and Google only makes money on ads that are incidental. Google could try on patents, but that's a battle it will lose even with Motorola under its belt (which it doesn't have, yet), since most of those patents are either not applicable or already licensed.

Actually they can. Google does not make money off the sale of Android, you are correct. But they do make money off features found in android. Youtube, adds in Google search all contribute to Google and are not found native in iOS.

Hey Apple, we get it. You think your phone should be the only smartphone on the market. How else are you supposed to navigate thru pictures on a touchscreen device? I'm honestly wondering why anyone gets into these markets considering all the headaches. Is it good to only go after those who pose a threat or everyone? Why not go after every smartphone manufacturer with a product sold in the EU? Seems to me that would be more lucrative. Wait then you'd be stifling competition which would lead to penalties/infractions on YOUR company...I'm glad these corporations are only betting billions of dollars on their strategies.

Notice these court proceedings are occurring overseas, not in the U.S. Apple doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of pulling that mess in the U.S. Solution for Android: Google purchases hp's Palm division for Palm's patents, and then sue the hell out of apple for making a "touchscreen electronic device" which came from the original Palm Pilot series...

That is awesome. I don't see how it's ok to just pick on Samsung when clearly every other smartphone manufacturer (and tablets or even some touch screen netbooks/laptops) could be considered in violation of the patent as it is presented above.

Is it because Samsung was one of the first Android manufacturers to really nail down "thin and sleak"?

Well - in truth there are other lawsuits out there I guess but this one is getting all the press because it's actually blocking sales. I just hope it doesn't hold up long term.

Actually its a patent for gesture based gallery controls, so when you swipe and see the next picture before you are off the current picture; apple owns that
I have no idea how they get patents like that, especially now. This patent should be void

Basically then Apple will sue everyone since 90% of phones out there do this from Android to WP7.

But this is a simple fix that can be implemented pretty quickly until they resolve the dispute. Just allow a user to flick to the next picture without it showing the pictures "sliding" across the screen, road block lifted. Once they settle, they can re-implement it if they win or license it.

There are digital camera out there that use gestures to advance the image on the screen. Panasonic Lumix point and shoot cameras have this funtcion. I beleive Canon also has a couple models with touch screens.

I still fail to see why this only applies to Samsung. yes I know Apple has been going after them over phone design and Touchwiz. But the Samsungs Galaxy phones use the default Android gallery that is found on every Android based phone.

How is this just a Samsung thing? Every Android device with the default gallery app does this. So does the BB Torch. And Windows Phone 7 if I'm not mistaken. So what, every other smartphone in the world can't have thumbnail images/swipe gestures? Oh, Apple.

Pretty sad that a patent so vague which could be anything made today. Complete bull shit and that kangaroo court should be ashamed of themselves. Apple should be ashamed of themselves. Apple must have serious lawyer bills every month, they are one pathetic company. What goes around comes around. Maybe Google should take all there software off of all Apple products, better then that start charging some big bucks to use anything with Google on it. Android has to start playing dirty just like Apple is doing. Samsung needs to take a hit in the pocket book and either stop making Apple any parts for their phones or just double up on the price of everything. There is all kinds of thing s that can be done to zing Apple. That ruling will never make it in a US court, Apple starts this shit in a shit court hoping this ruling might sway other courts. I hope Android really puts the screws to Apple now.
PS Maybe this will force those phones to the US market faster so we can get our hands on them. One positive thing out of it.

no more switching between screens ever again I guess. This is lame. Only lame is way too small word for this. I feel for our European friends, but really I suppose most of the people that actually wanted one of those devices already has one.

Horse crap. Complete and utter horse crap. What about the feature being "essential to the smartphone experience"... or "essential to any phone with a camera/photo gallery" experience? That's complete bull!

WHAT?!!!! PHOTO MANAGEMENT!!!? Oh. My. GOD!!!
Now i feel i wanna puke or... or maybe KILL someone? or just ... DIE STEVE JOBS, DIE already... why is he LIVING with his Pancreatic Cancer? JUST DIE PLEASE!!!
============================
i swear i felt sad for him when i heard he had cancer but this... this has gone waaaay to far i literally feel DISGUSTED even when this decision is not gonna affect me in any (direct) way....
I've never wished death to ANYONE but he's standing on the way of evolution...
and the dumb patents shystem (that's shit-system) needs some work... hell, it needs to be rebuilt from the ground up!!!

Do you know how much i LOVE technology and how much time i've been waiting to get a tablet that has everything i need (not WANT but NEED)....
=========
I just hate Apple like NOTHING else on the planet....

Wishing death on the man is a bit too far. As wrong and annoying as the patent trolling my be, he is in it to make his company money like everyone else, even if it does stifle progress. Steve isn't killing anyone.

I'm all for smartphone innovation, but it isn't more important than someone's life.

Even with me being a young, and possibly slightly superficial, technology loving 19 year old college student, I must say, you need to get off the computer and interact with people a little more.

But then they'd be sued by Apple for infringing on their "cover/pages start flat, then user lifts cover (and subsequent pages) rotates it/them along the axis point/binding until resting flat and opposite the starting position" patent. This is because (although no suites and come up yet) Apple patented iBooks in such a way that books are illegal now (unless read on the iPad... which is the only way to REALLY read now, right).

If you look at the patents, they're *not* that generic. Moreover, most of what "pretty much every smartphone does" were things that came after the iPhone did them first. Remember what a smartphone looked like before that?

Apple is targeting the Galaxy phones because that big home button and TouchWiz aren't part of the stock Android formula and are very obviously designed to seize on that Apple-like look.

Also, where did politics (especially the bad, hard-right stereotyping kind) suddenly seep into this? Deal with the issue at hand... and, for that matter, watch news outlets other than Fox News, please.

Go take a look at the Palm Treo and Palm Pre. Both of those had cameras and both had small snapshots to select then view the full sized image. YEARS before the iphone. The iphone was NOT the original smart phone. The Handspring Visor was. I hope Google buys the Palm/webos mobile business and patents from HP

One thing I remember these functions back when I was using windows mobile 6. Before crapple even had the fagphone thought in there head. Second crapple are the biggest bunch of liberals starting with there sorry associated leader.

Yes they are. Read what the judge said. Specifically in regards to the iPad. Basically he said that the iPad has such a minimal design that there is not enough design to protect. Also, four other patents were thrown out due to designs released to the market prior to the iPhone, designs released 2005 and earlier. Lol. No, he did call them out on specific patents that they have on designs prior to their patent. Lol. A simple design changeto the gallery is all the judge said was needed.

This is a huge win for Samsung. They have officially knocked off 9 of 10 patents disputes and the one that went against them is a minor one involving the photo gallery. OTA update and alls good. Apple should be embarrassed!